IPL25
Follow UsMumbai Indians have struggled with spinners in the past.
But the five-time IPL champions made amends with the acquisition of 18-year-old Allah Ghazanfar, a mystery spinner from Afghanistan, for INR 4.8 crore at the IPL 2025 Mega Auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 25 (Monday) . Following the footsteps of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad, the 18-year-old bowls it quickly and turns a mile.
In his young career of eight ODIs, the mystery spinner has picked up 12 wickets, including a 6/26 against Bangladesh in the famous ODI series win. The off-spinner can not just turn the ball a long way but can also bamboozle the batters with quick pace and a carrom ball that is almost impossible to pick up.
Also read: Allah Ghazanfar registers 2nd best figures for a spinner in Sharjah
At 18 years and 231 days old, Ghazanfar became the fourth youngest full-member bowler to take a five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. His 6/26 were the second-best figures by a spinner in Sharjah, with Muttiah Muralitharan’s 7/30 against India in 2000 still topping the list.
But even before that series, the 18-year-old picked six wickets in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 T20, including combined figures of 4/28 against India and Sri Lanka in the knockouts. In his small T20 career, the Afghan has taken 29 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 11.62 and an economy rate of 5.71, which is as good as it gets.
Ghazanfar, who has modelled his action after Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) set up in IPL 2024 and will now represent Mumbai in the upcoming edition.
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